Wheel construction.



R. B.WOODWORTH.

WHEEL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION rum) MAR.20, 1911 Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES B. WOODWORTH. WHEEL CONSTRUCTION.

AZJY'LIGATXOH mm mazo, 191x 1 90,184. Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 EHEETS" QHEET Z.

WITNESSES mVEN-TOR QEWWWQZ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. WOODWORTI'L, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

WHEEL CONSTRUCTION.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. \V oODfl woirrn, of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allagheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \V heel Constructions, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to the construction of wheels of the class shown and described in Patent No. 932,081, granted to me on August 24th, 1909, and more particularly relates to the construction of metal bull wheels used on drilling rigs employed in drilling Artesian, oil and gas or other deep wells. Heretofore, it has been the practice to construct such wheels wholly of wood to facilitate transportation, such wheels ordinarily being built at the place of use and being very heavy and cumbersome in order to obtain the necessary strength. In the metal wheels of this description, a decrease in weight and increase in strength is had, but the great over all dimensions of such bull wheels (as much as 8 feet in diameter) and an over all length of 12 to 15 feet makes such wheels difficult to handle in transporting from the place of manufacture to the place of use, or from lace to place when being used, the parts orming such wheels being securelyv riveted together it; the shop before shipment to the first place of use.

One object of this invention is to provide a bull wheel construction made in sections, so as to have in effect a knock down wheel construction, with the sections or separable parts arranged to be easily and quickly disconnected in dismantling and again assembled in place, as is required in moving the Wheel from place to place.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sectional wheel construction having novel means for assemblin the sections rigidly together in place an for maintaining tie sections in assembled relation to each other during the severe and extended service to which such wheels are subjected when being used as a component part of a drilling rig employed in drilling deep wells. A. further object of my invention is to provide a wheel formed of metal and havmg hub and rim portions of novel construction bv which the strength and stiffness of the wheels are materially increased with- Specification of Letters Patent,

Application filed March 20, 1911.

Serial No. 615,598.

out substantial increase in weight and a strong and durable wheel is obtained having a minimum amount of material.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a metal wheel construction formed of rolled metal shapes and standard manufactured materials which are easily and quickly obtainable from the stock of dealers in such materials.

Referring to the drawings. Figure 1 is a. sectional side elevation of a bull wheel con structed and arranged in accordance with my invention. partly in section, of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation on the line III-III of Fig. 1 showing the way in which the radial arms located between the driving wheel and brake wheel are secured to the wheel shaft. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on a larger scale showing in detail the construction of the rim of the wheel for the driving rope and the way in which the grooved segmental wooden fillers or cants are secured together in place on the rope driven wheel. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the construction of the rim of the brake wheel and the manner of securing the segmental wooden tillers or cants on the periphery of the brake wheel.

In the drawings "2, 2 2 designate the three several parts forming the sectional shaft, as made in accordance with my in vention, in the bull wheel construction shown. The shaft preferably is formed of pieces of welded steel or iron pipe or tube. which forms a light, very strong construction, the number of pieces employed being varied as found necessary or desirable to facilitate handling and shipping. The ends of the intermediate. relatively long section 2", and one end of the shorter sections 2, 2 of the shaft, which are screw threaded, are provided with threaded flanges 3, 4, 5 and 6 screwed into position thereon, the flanges being used to connect the shaft sections together and. detach-ably, to the hub portions of the brake wheel and driven rope wheel forming part ofthe bull wheel construction, as made in accordance with this invention.- One end of the shaft Section 2 is provided with left hand screw threads and its flange 4 is correspondingly threaded, such con struction being used to prevent unscrewing of the pipe section 2 in the flanges 4 and 5 when the bull wheel is in use, and the left hand thread being located on the shaft in Patented Mar. 17, 1914. .7

IOU

position to suit the direction in which the of circumferential V-shaped grooves shaft is rotated under stress during the use which when in service are engaged by the of the bull wheel, in thesconstruction shown driving rope or ropes by which the bull this position being on the brake wheel end Wheel is actuated. It is obvious however of the section 2. Th outer ends of the that the grooves may be omitted from the shaft sections 2, 2 also are rovided with rim of the driving wheel when a belt is emscrew threads, on which t e internally ployed to drive the bull wheel. thrcaded gudgeons or trunnions 7, 7 are The flanges 3 and 4 bolted to the hub screwed in being secured in place. The plates 9, 9, on the brake wheel and the brake wheel is formed with spokes 8 made flanges 5 and 6 which are attached in a of radially extendin rolled steel channels similar manner to the hub plates 9", t, on secured together at t eir inner ends by the the driving wheel so as to afford ready rolled steel hub plates 9, 9 which are semeans for disconnectingthe sections, are

purely riveted to the flanges of the channels each provided with a series of tap bolts 16 forming the spokes of the wheel. As shown screwed into place in threaded openings in the adjacent inner ends of alternate spokes the flanges, the ends of the bolts 16 enga are rovided with angle connections 10 ing with the threaded ends of the shaft seewhich are riveted in place on such spokes so tions 2, 2 2,,or entering into registering as to connect the inner ends of such spokes holes provided in the threaded ends of the together independently of the hub plates 9. 9. pipe sections for that purpose, so as to ef- Rim plates 11 are provided on opposite fectively prevent backing out or unscrews5 sides of the outer ends of the spokes 8, being ing of the pipe sections in the flanges and secured in place by means of gusset plates maintain the over all length of the secl1 riveted to the ends of the spokes 8 and tions after the parts of the bull wheel are employed to connect the spokes with the assembled and are placed in use. Similar rim plates 11. The peripheral edges of the tap bolts l6 screwed in threaded openings rim plates 11 are sheared (ii formed to a pr vlded 1n the gudgeons or trunnions 7 curvature suitable for the diameter of the serve in a similar manner to prevent relabrake wheel of which the lates form art. t ve movement of the trunnions and the sec- Secured in position at li out r en 3 of tion of the shaft on which they are screwed n the spokes 8 to and between the rim plates 11 and t mfllntflin the 0V8! a l length f the is a series of wooden segments or cants assembled bull wheel shaft. 12 which form the friction surface of the t an Intermediate point in the length of brake wheel, these cants being held in the shaft a series of arms is provided formed place by means of bolts 13 passing through of rolled steel angles, one end of each being suitable registering openings or holes probent to conform to the curvature of the shaft vided ther i d m th im l t 11, and such bent ends bein secured by rivets to To afford means for manually moving the the shaft. The arms 1 serve to divide the bull Wheel on its trunnions 7 7, a s ries of Sh ft bet een the brake wheel and drivingl handles 14 project; from one side of the wheel llltO tWO parts, one Of WhlCh )8 USE brake wheel rim at intervals on the surto hold the portion of the drill rope being face thereof, these handles preferably being used, the other serving to hold the spare or formed of short pieces of pipe, held in place Surplus length of such rope during the drillby bolts passing through the opening in the lug operations. 7 pipes and transversely through the rim of T e advantages of my inventlon will be tl h apparent to those skilled in the art. The

The driving wheel located adjacent to one long, unwieldy and cumbersome bull wheels end of the bull wheel shaft is provided with are easily and quickly taken apart and spokes 8 formed of rolled steel. channels seshipped in easily handled sections when cured together by angle connections 10 and made in accordance with my invention. The riveted to the hub plates 9, 9, in the same sections are readily assembled in the field manner as the similar parts of the brake in readiness for further use, as often as rewheel on the opposite end of the sectional quired. The use of the tubular shaft greatly shaft. The rim of the driving wheel is conlessens the weight of the alpparatus without structed of a series of rim plates 11 secured sacrifice in strength, whi e by connecting in place on the outer ends to opposite flanges the sections forming the bull Wheel together of the channel spokes 8 and having Wooden as shown and described, a bull wheel conse ments'or cants 12 secured between the struction is had which is li ht, ver stiff and s s y rim plates .11 by bolts 13 in the same manstrong, and which requires a minimum nor as described for the brake wheel. amount of machine work. The arts form- The wooden rim of the driving wheel difing the bull wheel all being stan ard manufers from that of the brake Wheel in that factured materials are easily and quickly instead of a plain peripheral surface, the obtainable. driving wheel is provided with a plurality Modifications in the construction and arrzingement of the parts may be made withtween the middl shaft section and an end shaft section, and a spoke'd driving wheel interposed between the other end of the middle shaft section and thejother end shaft section, spokes of each wheel extending in between theadjacent shaft sections and eonnected with one another, and detachable connections between the said wheels and the respective shaftsections.

2. A knock-down bull wheel construction comprising a middle shaft scctior and opposite end shaft sections, a spoked brake wheel interposed between the middle shaft section and one of the end shaft sections, a spoked driving wheel interposed between the other end shaft section and the middle shaft section, spokes of each wheel extending in between the adjacent shaft section's, angle connections for the inner ends of said spokes, and detachable connections between the said wheels and the respective shaft sections.

3. A bull wheel construction comprising a. middle shaft section and end shaft scetions, :1 spoked brake wheel interposed between the middle shaft section and one of the end shaftsections, a spoked driving wheel interposed between the other end of the middle shaft section and the other end shaft section, each of said wheels having hubplates, flanges on the ends of the middle shaft section and on the inner ends of the end shaft sections, the shaft sections being detachably connected to the hula-plates of the respective wheels, certain of the spokes of each wheel cxtending in between the adja cent shaft sections.

In testin'iony whereof, I l'iave'hereunto set my hand.

ROBE 1TB. WOGDWOR'IH.

W itnesres:

G En'rn L on SCI-XO'JTLE, Ronnn'r A. Mansion. 

